The Boat People

Biography

The Boat People are an Australian four-piece indie pop band. The Brisbane based group consists of James O'Brien, Robin Waters, Charles Dugan and Tony Garret. They use instruments such as keyboard and tambourine mixed with 2-part harmonies, ironic lyrics and pop inspired melodies. They cite Crowded House, Jeff Buckley and The Beatles as their main musical influences.

Going by the name 'Four on the Floor' at the time, the band formed whilst still attending high school in Warwick, Queensland. In 1996 they entered and won a $20,000 grant in the Nescafé Big Break contest and used it to fund their first self-titled album.

In 1997, they re-recorded a song from the album and entered it into Triple J's Unearthed competition, consequently winning within their region and receiving airplay of the single "Anime Girl".

The group took a break to study jazz at the Queensland Conservatorium which greatly influenced their later work. After changing their name to The Boat People in 2000, they signed a distribution deal with MGM Records and recorded numerous EP's. Extensive tours of Australia, particularly the East coast, saw the band support major international acts such as The Shins, David Byrne, Dogs Die In Hot Cars and Idlewild.

In August 2005, they released their first full-length album titled yesyesyesyesyes, released on Shock Records.

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